Italy coastguard: 3,400 refugees save over weekend

Israel's Supreme Court has
upheld a law allowing the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike. The
top court rejected an appeal by the Israel Medical Association against the
ruling. Palestinians in Israeli jails go on hunger strike to protest their
stay without charge or trial and the terrible condition of prisons.

A new poll in Spain shows a 3rd
national election won’t help the country out of its political stalemate.
The results of the poll indicate the vote would deliver yet another hung
parliament as the conservative People’s Party of acting Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy would again fall short of a national majority.

The Italian coastguard says
some 1,100 refugees have been rescued off the coast of Libya, bringing the
tally over the weekend to 3,400. The Italian authorities say around
124,000 refugees have arrived in the country since the start of 2016.

Iran’s foreign minister says
Tehran will continue follow-up work on the Mina tragedy until the rights
of the martyrs, victims and their families are restored. Mohammad Javad
Zarif noted that Riyadh has taken some of Islam's holy sites hostage to
fuel sectarianism and serve the interests of Israel.

Muslims have marked the Day of
Arafah which is one the most important days in the Islamic calendar. In
Iraq’s holy city of Karbala, crowds of Muslims stood in prayer and held
vigils while in Iran similar gatherings were held in memory of the victims
of last year’s Mina tragedy.

Iran has welcomed a nationwide
ceasefire in Syria brokered by the United States and Russia. Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi has warned that the truce deal must not
be used by the terrorists to rearm. Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah
has also announced support for the truce.

Hundreds of thousands of people
have staged rallies across Catalonia to support a split from Spain. People
gathered in Barcelona and four other cities and waved Catalan separatist
flags. Pro-independence local leaders have vowed to push ahead with plans
to form a new state in 2017.

Pyongyang says US threats of
tough sanctions over its recent nuclear test are quote highly laughable. A
North Korean foreign ministry spokesman called on Washington to recognize
the country as a nuclear weapon state. On Friday, Pyongyang conducted its
5th and biggest nuclear test, in defiance of UN sanctions.***